Cross Campus: 02.11.09

Trayless? In an experiment billed as “a fun learning experience for everyone in JE,” students eating lunch today in Jonathan Edwards College have no choice but to go trayless, at least for an afternoon. “Trays will be removed from the dining hall, but Jen [Pan ’10, JE STEP coordinator] and I will be there to explain, to give background … and appease the backlash,” explained JE STEP coordinator Chris Termyn ’10.

Today is only the beginning, if JE STEP gets its way. “We hope to make trayless a permanent fixture in JE but realize that this will require a lot of time, so we’re just taking baby steps now,” noted JE STEP coordinator Jennifer Pan ’10.

The culprit responsible for the large sinkhole that appeared suddenly in front of Branford College this weekend has been found. An e-mail sent Monday afternoon informed Branfordians that “nature and age” were to blame and that “years of freezing, salt, and thawing” were their likely accomplices.

Disowning Thain. Last night, the YPU resolution to urge President Levin to “rename the Thain Family Café” passed by a vote of 49 to 25. Speakers for the resolution called John Thain’s $40 million severance bonus shameful in the wake of his company’s government bailout.

This Friday at Pierson College, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will deliver the keynote address at the Annual Black History Month Dinner. Though the dinner and address are free and open to the public, seats are limited and must be reserved in advance by contacting the Pierson Master’s Office.

The Ivy League of Indian nursery schools. Three-year-olds vying for admission into the nursery section of leading Delhi schools face more selective acceptance rates than students trying to get into Yale or Harvard, the Hindustan Times reported yesterday. Just one in 46 children were admitted this year into the selective Springdales School.

A new study led by Yale School of Public Health professor David Paltiel estimates that an HIV prevention strategy known as pre-exposure prophylaxis may reduce lifetime HIV infection in at-risk populations from 44 to 25 percent. The treatment comes with a price tag of $9,000 per year. The study’s findings will be detailed in the March 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

This day in Yale history

1992 Anticipating a union strike less than 24 hours away, approximately 30 Yalies waited outside the negotiating room in HGS in support of the union. But many more Elis were preparing for the imminent disruption in dining services, hoarding plates, cutlery and, in some cases, even whole loaves of bread from the dining halls.